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Design and application of Au decorated ZnO/TiO2 as a stable photocatalyst for wide spectral coverage

IR@CGCRI: CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata

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Title Design and application of Au decorated ZnO/TiO2 as a stable photocatalyst for wide spectral coverage
 
Creator Mukhopadhyay, Soumita
Maiti, Debabrata
Chatterjee, Sabyasachi
Sujatha Devi, P
Suresh Kumar, Gopinatha
 
Subject Electronics
 
Description A ternary nanostructured photocatalyst consisting of ZnO/TiO2/Au was designed to achieve an enhanced solar absorption due to the coupling of surface enhanced plasmonic absorption of metal and semiconductor excitons. TiO2 coated ZnO rods with an aspect ratio of 8-12 were decorated with citrate capped gold nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in simulated waste water under solar irradiation. Simulated waste water was prepared so as to get a mixture exhibiting a wide range of spectral distribution in the UV-visible region by deliberately mixing congo red, methylene blue and malachite green. Photo-oxidation of few phenolic compounds such as phenol, 4-chlorophenol and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons viz. anthracene and phenanthrene were also investigated in order to rule out the visible light sensitization of the dye molecules and confirm the photocatalytic efficacy of the ternary composite for a wide range of water pollutants under simulated solar irradiation. The composite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity and photoelectrochemical stability upon UV and visible light exposure. This enhanced efficiency was also corroborated with the photocarrier lifetime and chronoamperometric studies. Under simulated solar irradiation, UV light induced well separated charge carriers coupled with the visible light induced local surface plasmon resonance of AuNPs to exert significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity in a broad spectral region. This type of material may evolve as a novel photocatalyst for the efficient removal of organic contaminants in waste water and photoelectrochemical water splitting under the solar spectrum.
 
Publisher Royal Society of Chemistry
 
Date 2016-12
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://cgcri.csircentral.net/3771/1/soumitra.pdf
Mukhopadhyay, Soumita and Maiti, Debabrata and Chatterjee, Sabyasachi and Sujatha Devi, P and Suresh Kumar, Gopinatha (2016) Design and application of Au decorated ZnO/TiO2 as a stable photocatalyst for wide spectral coverage. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 18. pp. 31622-31633. ISSN 1463-9076
 
Relation http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C6CP06903G
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